1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical fittings or fixtures, and more specifically to electrical fittings or fixtures having an integral cover plate.
2. Description of Related Art
During construction of buildings, both commercial and residential, it is common to provide an electrical wall box for receiving an electrical fitting, such as, an outlet or a switch. The electrical wall box is typically secured to the side of a vertical stud. Once the wall box is installed, wallboard is typically installed over the studs and an opening is cut in the wallboard in order to pass the electrical fitting through the wallboard. Often, the opening is cut prior to installation of the wall box and the wall box is secured to align with the opening. Electrical wiring from a power source enters the wall box via an opening therein, wherein the electrical wiring is accessible from the front of the wall box.
To complete the installation of the electrical fitting, wires from the fitting are secured to corresponding wires in the wall box, such as, via wire nuts, and the fitting is secured, typically via screws that engage tubular openings (threaded or unthreaded—for self-tapping screws) in the wall box. Subsequently, a decorative cover plate is installed over the fitting, by securing the cover plate, such as, via screws that engage threaded openings in the fitting.
Whenever a building is undergoing renovation, the existing wall fittings and their cover plates are often in need of replacement or may simply need to be replaced to provide a different appearance. Further, it is often necessary to replace a single, defective fitting.
In order to replace such existing fittings, once the old cover plates and fittings are removed, typically a new fitting is installed by securing the wires of the new fitting to their corresponding wires in the wall box (step one), securing the fitting to the wall box (step two), and, subsequently, securing a new cover plate over the replaced fitting (step three). All of these steps are labor intensive, resulting in higher costs than would otherwise be incurred through a simpler apparatus and method of installation. Moreover, stock keeping units must be maintained for both the fittings and the cover plates, thereby increasing record-keeping costs for inventory.
When installing an electrical fitting to a wall box, the fitting has openings for fasteners to engage the wall box receiving apertures. Once the fitting is installed, the cover plate is secured via fasteners through different openings, thus requiring both different locations for the openings that receive the fasteners, but more importantly, a larger number of openings that should be required.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a need for an electrical fitting and cover plate combination that reduces the typical three step installation to a wired wall box from three steps to two.